2018 Topic 7: Kraft Card Vintage Twee Well hello everyone, Darcy here, our new topic is a real challenge in colour coordination and composition. This week we are looking at how you can use Kraft card (the colour) as your base instead of the traditional white or cream. Before we start, let's see who won the Topic 6: Banners & Bunting Challenge... The winner is: Sue from Sue the Iron Email Darcy to claim your prize. [email protected] Kraft colour is a lovely neutral shade, it has some warmth to it but not too much as can look just as good in a cool colour scheme. For this challenge you can use card, parcel paper, kraft grocery sacks or even corrugated card as your base, whichever fits in with the Kraft colour. You will need to think about the colours that you put on top, and also consider composition.. will you load up the layers or keep it minimal? Kraft paper, sometimes called 'sack paper' or card is the natural colour once the wood pulp has been squished and formed into paper, it is unbleached and is generally coarser than bleached white paper, Kraft paper is also quite strong. The Kraft process of producing wood pulp has been used since the late 1800's, this is a chemical pulping process, and it took over from traditional mechanical pulping. The name 'Kraft' refers to the process, and it is named after the German word 'kraft' meaning strength or force. So now we know it is good and strong, let's see what people have been making with it. The most obvious use is for cards, kraft works well with many colours. Here we have it teamed with red, but kept quite minimal, allowing the kraft colour to play a prominent role. Lin Look at this stunning poppy card, you wouldn't think that red could pop quite so much against brown, but it does here. the white writing is a lovely elegant touch. Kath Stewart This leads nicely into a Christmas card, you have probably used kraft paper with red before, it really does work great at Christmas time for an alternative to white. CornishKat Now for another colour that pops, turquoise! Most of the lighter blues and blue/greens will work really well. Note how so many of these cards leave lots of negative space. Janet O'Brien More blues, different shades mixed together, and this time some natural fabric has been added in for dimension and texture. PaperSoupCards Another project from Kath, very light delicate blues this time but they still work so well. Note the tone on tone stamping in the background too, this adds a great touch and an extra layer of interest to the kraft card. Kath Stewart Another surprising combination is brown and purple, how can that work? but it does, our own Jo Firth Young shows how in this stunning card. Jo Firth Young Pinks here are so soft and feminine, see the little soft halo of white around the character, that really helps to make it pop, but equally there is a shadow under her feet which helps to ground the character, so she isn't floating. Here we can see great combinations of colours, all popping beautifully on the kraft base. Julie As this is a great neutral base colour, why not layer it up with other neutrals! This one makes a great masculine card. Sara This one is so simple, but stunning; a fabulous use of embossing. Chrisssie Another beautiful card, accented with liquid pearls and ribbon, so elegant. Lisa So we can see from those examples that kraft card is so versatile as a base because it goes with just about any colour. Let's see some other projects. This fab little bird is actually a printable, but you could have so much more fun by zentangling your own bird. Rita While researching I have found some stunning books and mini albums make with kraft card, here is one to whet your appetite, if you follow the link there is a video on her page too. Alexandra Of course this colour works brilliantly as gift wrap, parcel paper is so cheap and can be decorated in all sorts of ways. Rebecca This flower bouquet is one of my favourites this week, the embossing on kraft is gorgeous and all grouped together makes this full of interest. Little Scrap How about something more architectural, this mobile is a fun decoration. Amy When making cards don't forget about the envelope, so often they are left undecorated, but it makes all the difference tot he recipient if they can open something like this. PaperWillowDesign Finally a scrapbook layout, I found this on a site that appears to be ALL kraft paper, so if you need even more inspiration head on over to here. Kraft Plus So many delicious projects and all using this humble brown card as a base, what will you do with yours? be sure to get creative over the next 2 weeks and link up your creations to show us. We do love to see them. Don't forget to follow Darcy and Leandra's Pinterest boards if this topic pushes your buttons, you will see plenty more examples to whet your appetite there! I am really looking forward to seeing what you create over the next 2 weeks! ~ Darcy We always hope that you learn something interesting from our blog. Our creative team love to read your comments so much, so please take time to let them know you've been inspired! You must complete step 1 AND 2 to be entered into the draw. To join our challenge: 1. Leave a comment on the Topic Introduction Post and go in the draw to win a PaperArtsy Apron. 2. Make something arty relevant to the topic, and link your creation from any social URL (eg. Instagram, Pinterest, Blog Post etc) sharing your original make to this challenge page. The current topic link Topic 7: Kraft Card will close 17:00 (London Time) Sunday, 29th April 2018, and the winner will be announced 2 hours later at 19:00. All links go in the draw to win a PaperArtsy creative apron. Please make sure we can contact you as a prize winner - it helps if you share your contact info from the platform you opt to use. Good Luck! If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!